Breaking: Another Gulf Oil Platform Explodes

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Follow Kate Sheppard, Mac McClelland, and Julia Whitty on Twitter for the latest updates on the explosion.

Another oil platform has exploded in the Gulf, and details are still coming in about today’s explosion. Firefighters are battling the blaze on the platform, and there are reports of a mile-long oil sheen extending from the site. As the Houston Chronicle reports, platform owner Mariner Energy has been involved in 13 accidents in the Gulf since 2006.

Stay tuned, we’ll have more details on today’s explosion as they come in.

Perhaps it’s a good time for a reminder of just how many pipelines (33,000 miles), wells (50,000), platforms and rigs (thousands of abandoned ones alone) are out there in the Gulf, each with its own potential for disaster. And did we mention it’s hurricane season?

Here’s what it looks like out there, from our September/October issue:Click here for a larger version.